Dubcek joined the Communist Party in 1939 and became the Party's first secretary in 1968. His economic and political reforms, including the abolition of censorship, were called the “Prague Spring.” When Czechoslovakia was occupied by Soviet forces, Dubcek was replaced by Husak (1969). He was later stripped of his Party membership. In 1989, he was elected chairman of the Czechoslovak parliament, after a popular uprising forced the Communist government to resign.